Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger...odds on to be next Pope. Better read about him [View All]

[BrklynLiberal]

Bush is just going to love this guy as Pope. I think he is another Rove protege..or vice versa!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A26491-2004Nov4?language=printer
extracts:
As head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Ratzinger has made several waves over the past year. Top among them was a letter he sent in August to Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick of Washington advising clergy that they must deny Communion to supporters of abortion rights who, he said, persist in cooperating in what he termed a "grave sin." The note also provided advice on how Catholic voters should proceed when faced with a choice that included a candidate who supported abortion rights. No names were mentioned, but several American bishops had spoken out against Sen. John F. Kerry, the Democratic presidential candidate, for his views on abortion. In the end, the U.S. bishops decided to leave these decisions to individual prelates. The letter was leaked in Italy, and its publication created consternation in the Vatican, especially in the office of the secretary of state, which handles international affairs.
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In August, Ratzinger told the French newspaper Le Figaro that Turkey, a largely Muslim country, ought not be admitted to the European Union. "Europe is a cultural continent, not a geographical one. The roots that have formed it . . . are those of Christianity," he said. "Turkey, which is considered a secular country but is founded upon Islam, could instead attempt to bring a cultural continent together with some neighboring Arab countries."
<snip>
He has fought against trends in ecumenism that suggest that Catholicism is but one of many ways to salvation. On issues of sex , morality and ethics, he minces no words. He called homosexuality an "intrinsic moral evil." In recent years, he has taken on social and scientific trends that, he argued, attack the natural order. At a public debate in Rome recently, he likened cloning to "weapons of mass destruction."
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Ratzinger has also defended the Vatican from criticism. At the height of the scandal of priestly pedophilia in the United States, he blamed the uproar on a media conspiracy. "I am personally convinced," he told an interviewer, "that the constant presence in the press of the sins of Catholic priests, especially in the U.S., is a planned campaign."